Samenvatting:A photovoltaic/thermal (PVT) panel is a combination of photovoltaiccells with a solar thermal collector, generating solar electricity and
solar heat simultaneously. Hence, PVT panels are an alternative for
a combination of separate PV panels and solar thermal collectors. A
promising system concept, consisting of 25 m2 of PVT panels and a ground coupled heat
pump, has been simulated in TRNSYS. It has been found that this system
is able to cover 100% of the total heat demand for a typical newly-built
Dutch one-family dwelling, while covering nearly all of its own electricity
use and keeping the long-term average ground temperature constant. The
cost of such a system has been compared to the cost of a reference system,
where the PVT panels have been replaced with separate PV panels (26
m2) and solar thermal
collectors (7 m2),
but which is otherwise identical. The electrical and thermal yield of
this reference system is equal to that of the PVT system. It has been
found that both systems require a nearly identical initial investment.
Finally, a view on future PVT markets is given. In general, the residential
market is by far the most promising market. The system discussed in
this paper is expected to be most successful in newly-built low-energy
housing concepts.